norite

American  

[nawr-ahyt] / ˈnɔr aɪt /

noun

1. a granular igneous rock consisting of a mix of light and dark minerals, the former being calcic plagioclase feldspars, and the latter orthorhombic pyroxenes.

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norite British  

/ ˈnɔːraɪt /

noun

1. a variety of gabbro composed mainly of hypersthene and labradorite feldspar

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norite Scientific  

/ nôr′īt /

1. See gabbro

2. A coarse-grained igneous rock, very similar to gabbro but containing orthopyroxene instead of clinopyroxene.

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Other Word Forms

• noritic adjective

Etymology

Origin of norite

From the Norwegian word norit, dating back to 1875–80. See Norway, -ite ¹

Example Sentences

The researchers used a method called atom probe tomography to confirm the age of the oldest-known solids that formed after the giant impact, the zircon crystals inside the fragment of a type of rock called norite collected by Schmitt.

From Reuters

“So we gave them one”: a two-centimeter-wide square of an igneous rock called norite that is one of 12 such targets on the rover.

From Scientific American

Mī′norite, a Franciscan friar.—adj. belonging to the Franciscans.—n.

From Project Gutenberg

These basic holocrystalline rocks form a large and numerous class which can be subdivided into many groups according to their mineral composition; if we take it that typical gabbro consists of plagioclase and augites or diallage, norite of plagioclase and hypersthene, and troctolite of plagioclase and olivine, we must add to these olivine-gabbro and olivine-norite in which that mineral occurs in addition to those enumerated above.

From Project Gutenberg

Hornblende-gabbros are distinctly rare, except when the hornblende has been developed from pyroxene by pressure and shearing, but many rocks may be described as hornblende- or biotite-bearing gabbro and norite, when they contain these ingredients in addition to the normal minerals plagioclase, augite and hypersthene.

From Project Gutenberg